UAlbany School of
Social Welfare's Blanca Ramos Honored
by New York State Department of Health

Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 22, 2005) -- Blanca
M. Ramos, an associate professor at the
University at Albany's School of
Social Welfare, has received the 2005 Hispanic
Heritage Month Service and Leadership Award,
presented annually by the New York State
Department of Health. The award is in recognition
and appreciation of Ramos' "compassionate
concern and pioneer spirit in the provision
of effective health care and culturally
competent services to the community."

Ramos is the education core director for
UAlbany's Center for the Elimination
of Minority Health Disparities (CEMHD).
Her scholarly interests are centered on
cross-cultural social work, gerontology,
and domestic violence with a focus on US
Latinos. Dr. Ramos holds an affiliate appointment
in the Department of Latin American and
Caribbean Studies. She teaches courses
on clinical social work, diversity, immigrants,
Hispanic cultures in the U.S., and research
in Latino communities. Her international
work includes partnership building with
higher education institutions and communities
and with the national association of social
workers in Peru. Ramos serves on a variety
of local, regional, and national boards
and commissions and has extensive experience
as a practitioner and community organizer.
She is past first vice president of the
National Association of Social Workers
(NASW) and has served in the National Board
of the Institute for the Advancement of
Social Work Research. She is a current
member of the editorial board of Social
Work and the NASW National Committee on
Inquiry. She is originally from Lima, Peru.

As an NIH EXPORT (Excellence in Partnerships
for Community Outreach, Research on Health
Disparities and Training) center, CEMHD
works to identify health problems and seeks
ways to reduce, and eventually eliminate,
minority health inequities by building
the University's health disparities
research capacity, and by strengthening
community partners' ability to collaborate
on research and intervention programs.
For more information, visit http://www.albany.edu/cemhd/ .

UAlbany's School of Social Welfare
is ranked second in per capita scholarly
productivity among the social work programs
in the nation. The school's mission
is to further social and economic justice
and to serve people who are vulnerable,
marginalized or oppressed. Through education,
knowledge development and service, the
school promotes leadership for evidence-based
social work with a global perspective.
As a recognized national and international
leader in developing innovative and creative
programs, along with facilitating public-private
partnerships, the school has been able
to attract premier students, providing
them with an unsurpassed educational experience
at the bachelor's, master's,
and doctoral level.

The University at Albany's broad mission of
excellence in undergraduate and graduate
education, research and public service
engages more than 16,000 diverse students
in nine degree-granting schools and colleges.
For more information about this internationally
ranked institution, visit www.albany.edu.
For UAlbany's extensive roster of faculty experts,
visit www.albany.edu/news/experts.shtml.